Not Again
by mrmattimation
Summary: The human accidentally lets details of their past slip as Alphys walks them through the CORE's final hallway. Well, one of their pasts, anyway. Time travel's confusing.
1. Chapter 1

The human child's footsteps echoed as they traversed the final corridor of the CORE, towards the elevator which would allow them to finally leave Hotland and enter the king's castle, whereupon they would cross the barrier and leave the Underground. Somehow. Frisk hadn't exactly worked out all of the details yet, but just kind of winging it had worked wonders for them thus far, so they were sure they would find a way. They had to. The thought of approaching the king, and asking him nicely to just let them through, as Papyrus suggested at the beginning of their journey, filled them with DETERMINATION.

Really, their biggest concern was Sans. At the end of their last run, Sans had… Not been helpful. What should have been their easiest challenge wound up being the challenge that cost them a full RESET. It's not like Frisk didn't feel BAD about the things they did. But at the time, they felt like they had to do it. The first one was an accident. They didn't know their own strength, and Toriel paid for it… Dearly.

Then there was that nagging voice in the back of their head. A voice that sounded like their own, yet somehow much, much colder. And older, as old as a child's voice could sound. It told them that, so long as Frisk did what the voice said, they would be fine. Frisk was told that Papyrus would betray them, so, they did what they had to do. After all, in this world, it's kill or be killed, right? After that, things got easier. It became easier to kill once they weren't as emotionally attached.

After the RESET—as Frisk discovered, their newfound time traveling ability required them to adhere to strict rules such as where and when he could and couldn't travel to—Frisk found that their actions had no consequences. _So_ , they thought, _let's just ignore that little voice in my head from now on._ After all, what was the worst that could happen? If things went wrong, they could just RESET again.

Once they learned that, yes, Toriel could be saved, no, Papyrus was not a threat to them, and no, Monster Kid was not free EXP, Frisk honestly felt a little stupid. They let the voice in their head control them. They hated themself for it.

Well, more so than they already did. But Frisk didn't like to think about what led them to Mt. Ebott in the first place.

So, yes, they were slightly apprehensive at meeting Sans in the Judgement Hall again. They remembered all too well the feeling of bone tearing flesh, blaster searing muscle. And that was when they were LV 19. As Frisk had not killed anybody this time, they never gained any EXP, they never gained LOVE, and their HP remained at twenty, where it was at the start of their adventure. They, truthfully, had NO idea how they were going to deal with Sans. But they'd find a way. They'd have to.

Still, though, they hoped that, if they were destined to fight Sans, he'd go a bit easier on them this time. Maybe they can spare him since he knows they haven't killed anyone… In this timeline, at least.

Man, was Frisk glad that Sans couldn't remember the previous timelines. When they left the Ruins, they slipped up and greeted Sans before he told them to turn around and even called him by name before his formal introduction. He didn't seem to think much of it, but Frisk knew better than to take chances with the pun-loving skeleton. They've been very careful ever since.

Despite that, they were receptive to the idea that, perhaps Sans was destined to end their journey right here. At least, if they were going to die, they died knowing they hadn't let themself be lied to again. Their entire second journey through the Underground, Frisk didn't harm a SOUL. Never again will Frisk allow theirself to be fooled by the likes of a tiny, whining voice.

It was at this point that Alphys, the Underground's Royal Scientist who'd been helping them through Hotland, decided to speak up. Alphys followed them through the remainder of the CORE after Mettaton's batteries ran out and hadn't spoken up until this point.

"S-so," she began with her usual stutter, "you're about to meet ASGORE h-huh?" Frisk simply nodded in response. "You must be…" She seemed like she was holding onto something she didn't want to say. Frisk stopped and turned to face her. "Y-you must be…" Frisk tilted their head, confused. "Pr… Pretty excited about all that, huh? You'll f-f-finally… You'll finally get to go home!" Alphys was avoiding eye contact. Frisk thought that was weird, but they just chalked it up to Alphys being Alphys. No biggie. They kept walking. Alphys stopped again after a few feet, but Frisk didn't notice. "W-wait!" Frisk turned around again, startled.

"Is something wrong, Alphys? Are you okay?" Frisk asked, genuine concern for their new friend beginning to show.

"F-fine, I just…" She looked away. "I mean, um… I… I was just going to, um… Say goodbye, and…" Alphy's eyelids lowered. She still refused to make eye contact with Frisk.

Frisk scratched the back of their neck. First Toriel, now Alphys… Was leaving the Underground really such a good idea? It seemed they were just hurting the same people they'd wanted to protect by leaving. When they left the Ruins, Frisk simply chalked up Toriel's apprehension to the fact that she very probably thought they'd be killed once they left, as so many other human children before them had. They didn't think for a moment that she actually just didn't want them to leave her behind. They weren't used to being cared about. Now here they were, with Alphys, who seemed equally saddened by the prospect of Frisk leaving the Underground.

Frisk approached Alphys, who simply stared at her own feet. "Hey, you know, I, uh, still have this cell phone. I've been calling a couple of other friends with it for a while now. If you'd like to, once I'm out on the surface, you can call me all you want. It'll be like I never left!"

Alphys didn't look comforted. "Yeah… Once you're on the surface."

"Listen, Alphys, I know that it feels like I'm just up and leaving you. But, like, I can't stay here forever," Frisk reasoned.

"O-oh, of course not!" Alphys quickly responded. "After all, you probably have family up there, and… Stuff."

Now it was Frisk's turn to avoid eye contact. "Yeah… Family…"

"B-but… That's not why I'm acting so… Funny."

"Oh?"

"...human. I… I can't take this anymore." Alphys swallowed hard. Whatever she was about to tell them, Frisk could tell it was heavy. "I… I lied to you."

Frisk closed their eyes. "Alphys, if this is about your role in the obstacles I've encountered thus far, I promise I'm not mad. If I'm being honest, Mettaton's antics were actually kind of fun and I'm glad you were able to make yourself feel like a star! You're my friend, and-"

"N-no," she interrupted. "It's… It's not that either. It's… It's about the barrier." Her voice began to break. "I told you that, with your powerful SOUL, you could cross the barrier. I wasn't being entirely truthful. A human soul isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone."

Frisk's studied her intently. Their face was unchanging. "So you're saying we've gotta find another way across, right?"

Alphys sighed. "It takes at LEAST a human soul."

"Which I have."

"A human soul, and…" she swallowed again. "And… And a monster soul." She looked back up at Frisk, whose DETERMINATION levels dropped significantly upon hearing that. "If you want to go home…"

"No..."

"You'll have to take his soul. You'll have to kill ASGORE. ...I'm sorry." With that, Alphys turned to leave.

Angry at nobody in particular, Frisk let out a groan and punched the wall, swearing under their breath once the pain shot through their arm. Startled, Alphys turned and looked at them again.

"A-are you okay-?"

"I thought-!"

Alphys looked like she could cry. "I know, I should have told you sooner, I just-!"

Frisk fell to the floor, completely undetermined. "I thought I had done everything right this time."

Alphys tilted her head, confused. "This time…?"

Frisk brought their knees up to their body, resting their chin on them. Tears flowed freely from their eyes. "I don't want to kill again…"

Alphys' eyes widened. "A-again?" She had no idea she'd been leading a murderer through Hotland. She could have sworn she saw them spare every monster in their way. Not that she was really watching at all times, but… Then she realized. The one fight she hadn't been watching. "Undyne…"

This child in front of her… Had killed Undyne. The horrifying realization finally set in. "You… Killed Undyne?"

Frisk's eyes widened. They looked up at the reptilian above them. "No! No, I didn't. Undyne is fine. She's with her friend, Papyrus, in Snowdin right now. I haven't harmed anyone."

Alphys sighed in relief, although she definitely would call Undyne after this to make sure Frisk was telling the truth—but she felt like she could trust them, for some reason. "So, why then, did you say you…?"

Frisk, realizing their slip up, stood up. "Nothing. I mean, I didn't. What I meant to say was I don't want to kill Asgore. I'm going to go up that elevator, march through New Home, walk past the judgement hall, and-"

Alphys interrupted. "Okay, now, hold on, there's a new bit of information. How do you know the layout of Asgore's castle? You've never been in there." This was as confused as Alphys has ever been. She knew for a fact this was the human's first time passing through Hotland. So how, then, did they seem to know what was coming? "Come to think of it," she added, "you seemed to know EXACTLY where you were going after you came into the CORE. You knew what rooms to avoid, which path to take… You ignored my instructions like you knew the layout had changed."

 _She's adding two and two together,_ said the voice in Frisk's head. _You know what to do._ Indeed, Frisk knew what to do. They stood up, sighing. Alphys came clean with them. It was time they came clean with her. _That's… Not what I meant,_ the voice said, slightly disappointed. Frisk chuckled internally. In response, the voice blew imaginary raspberries. Alphys was a scientist. If anybody needed to know about this strange ability, it was her. They just hoped she wouldn't think they were totally crazy.

"Alphys," Frisk began, "I haven't been entirely truthful with you either." They explained the power to her, leaving out most of the murder-y details. What it does. What they can do with it. Its limitations. Alphys' eyes were wide the entire time. When they'd finished explaining it, she looked like they'd grown two or three heads right in front of her.

"T-time travel?" She asked for clarification. Frisk nodded. "That's… That's…" Alphys' dorky grin from earlier returned in full force. "That's amazing! It's just like this anime I watch, about this girl who's stuck in a time loop, and they keep reliving the same day, and she has to find a way to stop an alien invasion beforetheendofthedayandthere'sthisguyshelikesandsheusesthelooptolearnlotsabouthimandalsoshe'sinabandbutbecauseofthisalieninvasionshenevergetsanythingdonebeforetheearthexplodesbutonedayshefindsoneoftheiragentsandwhoopsIalmostspoiledthebigtwistwhereherloveinterestisworkingwiththe-"

"Alphys," Frisk snapped her out of it. "Focus."

Alphys blushed slightly. "Uh, right. So, um… Y-you've… Killed Asgore before?"

Frisk shook their head. "I didn't get to his throne room the first time."

Alphys frowned. "So then who…?" Frisk's face grew sad. _I guess she has to learn about the other thing, too,_ they thought. It wasn't a matter of who did Frisk kill. It was a matter of who DIDN'T they kill. Before they could answer, however, Alphys shook her head. "I guess it doesn't matter. Whoever it was, you clearly felt bad enough about it to… Do things over?" Frisk nodded.

"So… You're sure there's no other way to get past the barrier?"

Alphys shook her head. "No. A being can only cross the barrier if they possess both a human and a monster soul. The barrier can be broken with the use of seven human souls, but…"

"...I would have to die."

"Exactly."

The corridor was silent for a bit. Finally, Frisk spoke up. "So… Why haven't you killed me, then?"

Alphys' eyes widened. "What are you-?"

"I mean… If you killed me, you could bring my soul to Asgore, he becomes a god and breaks the barrier, and the surface is taken back from humanity. All of your problems are very easily solved with my death."

Alphys searched for the right answer. "I don't know," she admitted, finally. It was true. Frisk's continued existence was an obstacle that kept the monsters underground. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to think of them like that. Frisk was their friend, not a hurdle to be jumped over.

More silence. Frisk knew what to do. Deep down, they knew it was the right thing to do. If Sans was going to kill them in the next room anyway, then…

Frisk looked back up at Alphys. "I won't fight Asgore."

Alphys breathed a sigh of relief. "K-kid, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. I know it's not your home, but… The Underground isn't so bad, once you get used to it. I-if you'd like, I mean, you can stay at my lab, if you don't have any other place to stay, although-"

"I'm not staying here, either."

"...what?"

 _What?_ the voice asked _._ Frisk definitely knew what they had to do. They had to do the right thing. They had to do what was best for everyone around them, even if it wasn't in their own best interests. "I'm going to let Asgore take my soul." They looked Alphys in the eyes. "You're going to be free." With that, Frisk entered the elevator.

As the doors were closing, Alphys wedged her foot in them, preventing the elevator from leaving. "H-hang on! You can't be serious!" she exclaimed. "You can't- Y-you can't just tell me what you just told me and expect me to just forget about it and go back to my lab like I didn't hear anything!"

"Well, that's awkward, because that's exactly what I'm expecting you to do," replied Frisk. Alphys rolled her eyes. Clearly this human had been hanging out with Sans. Alphys briefly wondered what he was doing these days before snapping out of it and turning her attention back to the human in front of her.

"I can't let you go up there." Alphys had made up her mind. She was going to take the human back to her lab, by force if necessary, then call Undyne and figure out what to do about this situation.

"Assertive!" replied Frisk in a somewhat colder voice. "You really think you can keep me here?" Alphys took a step back, careful to leave her right foot wedged in the door. She could have sworn she saw a red glint in the human's normally green eyes, but as soon as she blinked, the human shook their head and seemed to have returned to normal. "Uh, sorry. That was rude of me," the child responded. Child? Alphys wasn't sure. They looked to be about twelve or thirteen, but the tone they took up just now sounded like someone who was much older and much, much more tired. In any case, mental age aside, they were physically too young to be going on a suicide mission.

Alphys crossed her arms. "You're coming back to my lab." Normally, Alphys would've backed down ages ago, but she couldn't afford to this time. A child's life was on the line. The king had killed six. Alphys was going to save one, and any others that came after them. The scientist was only twenty-three years old and already she'd ruined enough lives to last a lifetime. She was going to make up for that, starting now.

Frisk shook their head. "This is something I have to do. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Alphys was annoyed, now. "If you go up there and hand your soul to Asgore, we're going to war. Do you understand that? It's not just your life on the line, here." Their life was her primary concern, but she wasn't about to tell them that. "If you die here, you'll be the first of millions." The human looked surprised. They hadn't thought of that. Good. She was swaying them. "Tell me, human, where's the closest city once you leave the mountain?"

"That'd be Denver."

"And how many people live in Denver?"

The human looked like they had to think about it. "I dunno. Half a million? It's not a very big city."

Alphys' eyes widened. "Whoa, wait, half a million isn't 'big'? Just how many humans are up there? And what's a 'big' city like?"

"There are around seven billion people on Earth, about five million live in Colorado—the state where Mt. Ebott is located—three million live in the metropolitan area immediately surrounding Denver, and a big city like New York has around eight million people," the human explained.

 _Seven. Billion. Humans?!_ Alphys' mind was racing. She truthfully had no the planet could even hold that many people, and the Underground only had a few thousand monsters. "W-well if you give Asgore your soul, you can consider Denver's entire population obliterated in a day. Colorado in a week. The world in mere months. That's how powerful he would become."

"I can't say we don't have it coming," Frisk replied dryly. "But… You're right. It certainly would be a shame if my death were the first of billions."

Satisfied, Alphys nodded. "I'm glad you see it my way, human!" Suddenly, the human pushed Alphys out of the elevator, and the doors began to close.

"Which is why I'm going to talk things out with the king. THEN I'll give him my soul. Nice chatting with you, Alphys!" Before she could react, the doors slid shut and the elevator moved upwards.

"No, no, no no no NO!" Alphys frantically tried calling the elevator down, to no avail. It was too late. The human was well on their way to New Home.

Alphys was all alone.

Alphys failed once again.

The human was going to face Asgore and only one will leave the throne room. And she never got to ask them more about time travel.

"Please, human," the reptilian said to nobody in particular, "come to your senses." She started down the hallway. "Please come back." She dragged Mettaton's lifeless body—only in need of recharging, thank god—across the floor. "Please stay in the Underground, with me and Undyne and Mettaton and those skeletons in Snowdin." She entered the elevator, which took her to the CORE's entrance. "And if you don't…" She left the MTT resort, still dragging its owner. "If you must fight Asgore…" Alphys walked into her lab, and pulled out a pair of AA batteries, which provided a surprising amount of energy to the robot. Efficiency at its finest. "Kill him. It's better than the alternative."

Somehow, though, Alphys knew the human wouldn't be doing any killing.

Not again.

It was only then that she realized she was back at the entrance to her lab, tugging Mettaton.

 _What? I could have sworn I was just up… Stairs…_

Alphys knew what this meant. The human was messing with time again. They had died, likely in the battle with Asgore, and for some reason decided to live for just a little longer. They knew something she didn't. Perhaps it was something she did know until just a few seconds ago. She wasn't sure how severely her memories were being affected by the reset.

Alphys walked into her lab. She grinned. In a few moments, she might not remember grinning—hell, she might not even remember that the human can time travel—but in this moment, she knew the human had a plan. Somehow, she knew that nobody was dying today.

Alphys walked into her lab for what felt like the fifth or sixth time. She couldn't remember what she was so happy about just now, but she had hope that it was for a good reason. She changed Mettaton's batteries and sat down at her computer.

Alphys walked into her lab. Her memory was hazy, but she tried her best to hold on. Something about.. The human could time travel, she remembered that much. That must be what's happening.

Alphys walked into her lab. _Déjà vu,_ she thought as she changed Mettaton's batteries. _Was I just here?_ She couldn't trust her memories lately.

Alphys walked into her lab. _The human hates me. I'm sure of it._

Alphys walked into her lab. She said nothing as she changed Mettaton's batteries before heading to her computer and sitting down in front of it. After what must have been an hour, there was a knock at her door, and a letter slid underneath.

Alphys hated letters.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Originally, I had no intention of continuing this story. In my opinion, the first chapter stands very well on its own as a complete story and slight prequel to the cartoon I'm working on. It's not perfect, but I'm more of a visual storyteller, this was just a sort of experiment. However, I also feel like more can be done with it. I'm fairly certain this chapter will be the last one. Thank you. As with one of my animations, constructive feedback is welcome.**

—

Frisk stood at the end of the Judgement Hall. If the last time they were here could be any indication, Frisk was certain that there's a very good chance they wouldn't make it past this corridor. Sans, the easiest enemy, was simply too strong. They couldn't see the pun-loving skeleton now, but they knew he'd show up, seemingly out of nowhere.

They held the dagger which was found in the children's bedroom downstairs. The room that belonged to the king's children, they'd guessed. Adorned around their neck was a locket, also found in said room. Strangely, both objects seemed to hold less power than they did before. But that was fine. Frisk was hoping they wouldn't need the power that the objects held or previously held.

They went over the plan, internally, one more time. They'd approach Sans and… Just sort of wing it? Plead, maybe cry a bit? In the last timeline, Sans didn't seem as merciful as his brother had been. Frisk hoped and dreamed that, similar to Undyne, Sans would go easy on them since, you know, Frisk wasn't acting like a total psychopath this time.

 _And if that doesn't work_ , said the voice in Frisk's head, _well, the skeleton can't dodge forever._

Right. Frisk locked that thought away right there. So, what was the plan after that? Truth be told, Frisk didn't know how they were going to deal with Asgore. They knew they were just going to give their soul up without a fight, Frisk just needed a way to convince him to, you know, not use his godlike powers to kill seven billion humans? That would be preferable.

 _One step at a time,_ thought Frisk—with their own voice, this time. Taking a deep breath, they took a step forward. And then another one. And another one. Putting one foot in front of the other—walking naturally this time, not goose-stepping like a Nazi—Frisk made their way towards where they'd face Sans. Sure enough, they blinked, and he was right in front of them, eyes closed and grin as wide as ever. The light from the window to his right—Frisk's left—cast a terrifying shadow on the other half of his face. Swallowing, Frisk clutched the knife in their left hand—not their right hand, as they unconsciously did last time—and prepared for the worst. Sans' eyes came open, and he glanced at the weapon. He seemed… Very relaxed. Last time he was really tense.

 _Crap_ , thought Frisk. _He knows I'm only LV 1. He's not even gonna break a sweat taking me down and he knows it._

 _He's underestimating you_ , said the voice that Frisk was most definitely ignoring right now.

Frisk realized that they weren't exactly in the best position, right now. With the way they were standing, they probably looked bloodthirsty. Or dust hungry. They needed to show they meant no harm.

 _I'm going to regret this_ , they thought, _but I just saved anyway. I can go back to that spot if this turns out to be a mistake._ Frisk placed their knife down on the floor, making sure Sans was watching. This earned a brow raise, which Frisk was unaware Sans could even do. They kicked the knife across the floor, out of their own reach. They then took the locket off, holding it in their hands.

"Catch," they said, tossing it at Sans, who caught it. He looked extremely confused. "That was my armor," Frisk explained. "And the knife was my weapon of choice. I'm throwing down my arms, Sans. I have no intention of hurting you."

Sans glanced to the side. "Gee," he said. "That sure is a relief. I thought for sure you'd be a real threat, what with the zero monsters you've killed."

 _He's mocking me_ , thought Frisk. "I don't want to fight you, Sans. If we have to, that's fine, but I'm not making any moves."

Sans looked down. "Well, that makes my job a lot easier." Frisk prepared for the battle ahead. They braced theirself for what was about to come. Sans moved first, as he did last time. Frisk moved to a defensive stance, ready to dodge. They could tell Sans was channeling magic, but they couldn't see anything. No blasters, no unfair bone patterns… Suddenly, they glanced down and saw the smallest bone slowly but surely making its way towards them. Dumbfounded, Frisk simply stepped over it. "Huh," mused Sans. "Thought for sure I had you there. You just dodged my strongest attack. Man, that sure is embarrassing. I guess I'll spare you, since I'm clearly no match for you."

Sans was taking the piss, wasn't he?

"Is… That really it?"

Sans raised an eyebrow. "What, you were expecting more?" He chuckled. "That's strange. it's almost as if…" His eyes went pitch black. "You've seen me fight before."

If Frisk had slightly less bowel control, they definitely would've voided them just now. He was just messing with them, right? There's no way he remembers anything.

Sans closed his eyes and laughed some more. "You know, I had my suspicions, but in the end I really didn't think you were the anomaly," he said. He opened his eyes again. "That power's gotta be nice. The ability to go back and change everything. Wish I had that." He winked. "I'd use the extra time to get a couple of more naps in." Sans stretched, glancing out the window. "You know, it's a beautiful day outside," he began. "Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…" He glanced back at Frisk. "On days like today, kids like you…"

"Should be burning in hell," said Frisk, finishing the skeleton's sentence for him.

Sans let out a low, terrifying chuckle. "So, it's true then," he said darkly. "You've fought me before. In another time." Frisk hesitated, then nodded, slowly. "Well then, I've got a couple of questions for ya…" He opened his eyes. Pitch black. "Why? There's only one reason I would've attacked ya, kid, so level with me. What drove you to do the things you did?"

Frisk glanced around looking for the right words. "I…" they swallowed. "I, uh… It just sort of happened?"

That was the wrong answer. "Ending a life doesn't just happen, buddy, let alone hundreds. Thousands?"

Frisk searched desperately for a response. "Mistakes were made," they finally said. Boy, was that an understatement. They sighed. "I did what I thought I had to do."

"You did what you thought you had to do," Sans repeated. "I guess it all depends on how you look at it." He winked. "I wasn't there, so I'll just have to take your word for it." That smile didn't look much like a smile. "So then," he continued, "Why'd ya reset the timeline?" Frisk pointed at him. "Heh. Figured. Guess I'm pretty good at my job." The hallway was silent for some time. "You know, before you threw that knife down I was gonna say something else, totally unrelated, but I forgot what that was."

Frisk tilted their head. "So, I've got a question for you."

"Shoot."

"In… The other timeline…" Frisk looked for the right words. "...in the other timeline, you asked me if I thought anybody could be a good person." They hoped Sans knew what they were talking about.

"Sounds like something I'd say."

"Your brother, he… He always believed in me, even when… When I…" Frisk couldn't finish the thought. "Well, anyway, he believed anybody could be a good person if they tried."

"Sounds like him."

"Do you? Do you believe that everybody is redeemable? Can somebody on the side of evil just… Turn good? Or are they doomed to walk the path of darkness for as long as they walk the mortal realm?" _Or maybe even beyond_ , they added to themselves. They hoped the other voice heard that one.

Sans thought about it. "That's a pretty heavy question, kid," he said finally. "Obviously, you aren't a hundred percent evil, if you came back to undo your mistakes. But you're definitely not a hundred percent good, either, or else you wouldn't have made those mistakes in the first place." Sans crossed his arms. "Of course, you are only human."

 _Ouch_ , thought Frisk, although they knew they deserved worse than that.

"To answer your question, yes, I think everybody has the opportunity to be good. It's all about whether or not you take the opportunity, and you? You took that opportunity. Don't blow it."

Frisk blinked. "So, uh, what happens next?"

Sans put his hands in his pockets. "Well, I think the responsible thing for me to do would be to kill you right here," he removed one hand from its pocket and scratched his chin, "but I'm entirely too lazy and, tibia honest, I think you and I both know that wouldn't stop you." He looked at the knife on the ground. "Do you regret the things you did?"

"Absolutely."

"Welp. That's good enough for me. Consider yourself judged." Frisk relaxed. "Now, I think you have a king to go talk to." Frisk nodded, and in the blink of an eye, the skeleton was gone.

 _You won!_ said the voice with a sarcastically celebratory flair. _You earned 0 EXP and 0 GOLD!_

Frisk felt something in their pocket, and pulled out both the locket and the knife.

 _I really hope I don't need these_ , they thought, and continued onward.

At some point on the way to Asgore, there was a fork in the hallway. They opted to continue moving forward, rather than turn into what they believed to be the throne room. They were shocked by what they found.

Seven coffins.

Six of them had bodies in them.

Frisk realized that this was, ultimately, where they would end up. _Asgore keeps the corpses of his victims in his basement?!_ thought Frisk incredulously.

 _Yeah,_ said the voice. _It's pretty sick, isn't it?_

Frisk had to agree with them there.

 _...that coffin's as comfortable as it looks, by the way, said the voice._

 _How would you know?_

 _Well, you see… Oh, never mind. It's not important._

The realization hit Frisk like a bus. _You're the first human to have fallen down here. They glanced at the engraving on the coffin._ CHARA. _Is that your name?_

 _Well done, Sherlock,_ said Chara sarcastically. _You solved the mystery. President Kennedy should give you an award._

It took Frisk a moment to catch that.

 _Kennedy?_

 _...er, Johnson, sorry._

 _That's still—okay. Fine._

Frisk turned back around to walk towards the throne room.

 _Do you really think you can convince Asgore to use the human souls peacefully?_ asked Chara. Frisk thought that was a silly question.

 _Of course I can. I've made it this far, haven't I?_ they responded.

 _Well. I guess we'll see. It's not like your actions have consequences, anyway._

 _Oh, you're real funny._

 _I'll be here all week._

With that, the discussion ceased. Frisk finally made it to Asgore. There they were, in the hall of the mountain king. Their journey was finally at an end. Frisk couldn't see him very well from behind, but he was very, very tall. "You must be Asgore Dreemurr," they said.

"Oh?" the King responded. "Is someone there?" Asgore had not yet turned around. He thought they were just some monster. "Just a moment. I have almost finished watering these flowers." He sprinkled the last droplets of water on the golden flowers below him, before slowly turning around. The first thing Frisk noticed was the striking resemblance he bore to Toriel. But they didn't make assumptions about his relation to her. That's racist. "Here we are! Howdy! How can I…" A look of shock replaced the king's happy face.

Frisk sniffed coolly. "'Sup?"

"Oh." The Mountain King looked away. "I so badly would like to say, 'would you like a cup of tea,' but…" he hesitated, before looking back at Frisk sadly. "You know how it is."

This was their chance. Time to schmooze Asgore. "So, why don't you?" Frisk asked.

The King looked confused. "Excuse me?"

"Let's chat over tea!" Frisk said with a smile. "I mean, haven't you ever heard of a dying request? Come on."

"Dying request… Yes. I see. So you know already what I must do."

"I inferred," said Frisk in that cold, older voice again, "From all of the coffins in the basement." They really needed to talk with Chara about this whole "sharing a body" thing. The King shook. Frisk shook their head and regained control. "Er, what I meant to say was, I've been told that you need seven human souls. I've also been told that I am, coincidentally, human soul number seven. Funny how that works out. Anyway…" Frisk looked back up at the King. "How about that tea?"

Frisk and Asgore sat at a table in Asgore's sitting room, having possibly the most awkward tea date in the history of the Underground. The two sat, not making eye contact and not saying a word, the only noises being made coming from the occasional sipping of their tea.

In the end, it was Asgore who broke the silence. "So, um… How long have you been in the Underground."

Frisk looked up but noticed Asgore still wasn't looking directly at them. "About a week," they responded. "I fell down last Thursday."

"My," Asgore sighed, "your family must be worried sick about you. Why, if my son—" he cut himself off, and soon his furry white face looked even paler, if that was even possible.

 _Of course he only remembers Az. He is his real son, after all._

Frisk took notice. "Mr. Dreemurr?" Asgore looked at them for the first time since bringing out the tea. "Are you okay?"

Asgore seemed to have internally calmed down. "Uh, yes. Please, just call me Asgore." He glanced away again. "'Mister' is a title of respect. A title I am undeserving of." Asgore looked back at them. "My apologies. I did not mean to worry you. I just… Felt sick, is all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Frisk asked, their concern once again genuine.

Asgore shook his head. "Human, it is best not to ask. Half a century has passed since my children… Well… A-anyway, this may seem silly to a human, but… I miss them both, even after all of this time."

 _Wait. He actually remembers me? He misses me?_

Frisk put down their teacup. "It's silly that you think that's silly. Losing your kid is horrible. Losing both of them in one day must be absolute hell. I don't think anybody would blame you for being hung up on the past. Even the strongest kings would be were they in your position." They paused, before adding, "And for the record, humans get sentimental too. We're not robots, you know."

Asgore looked a little better. "Yes. Of course. Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive."

They say in silence for a while longer, though this silence wasn't nearly as awkward as the first. Asgore broke it again. "So, what is the surface like, these days? Has it changed much?"

"To answer that question, I'd have to know how long you all have been down here. 2015 Earth is a lot different from 1915 Earth, 1815 Earth, and so on."

"Well, for starters, is the barbaric practice of slavery still commonplace?" asked the king in earnest.

"God, no, that ended in 1865. ...well, mostly. In some aspects, humans are still reluctant to treat each other as equals," said Frisk with a hint of disgust.

 _Boy, you sure are doing a great job convincing Asgore that wiping out humanity is a bad idea,_ Chara remarked sarcastically.

 _I'm still trying to figure out if I believe that myself,_ Frisk bit back. Still, though, they were right. Their goal was to redeem humanity in Asgore's eyes before giving him the power to potentially end it. Frisk looked back up at Asgore. "Don't get me wrong, things are still far better than they were before. At the very least, owning people is big no-no." In most places, they added silently.

"And what of technology? How far behind is the Underground?"

"Not that far behind, honestly," remarked the human child. "You're still using CRTs, but you have DVDs and Intel processors. I'd say you're doing pretty good." Frisk sipped their tea. "Of course, very soon, you'll see what it's like up there for yourself," they chanced.

Asgore raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? We still need-"

"Hello, fuzz ball, you've got a seventh human soul right in front of you."

Asgore's eyes widened. "You-"

"Asgore, I'm not going to fight you today," said Frisk, putting down their tea. "You can take my soul and break the barrier. It's yours."

Asgore was speechless. "I-"

"BUT! I! Have! Conditions!" said Frisk, imitating Papyrus as best they could. "You have to promise me that you'll share the surface with the humans."

Asgore's face fell. "I cannot promise that."

"That's interesting," said Frisk, grabbing and sipping their tea. "Because that's my one clause. You can share the surface with the humans, or you aren't getting this soul."

Asgore stood. "You are willing to leave my people trapped here?"

"More like I'm unwilling to be involved in a genocide." Not again, anyway. "So. What'll it be?"

"Child. This situation is far more complex than you can imagine," said Asgore, getting slightly more agitated.

"I'm protecting over seven billion people!" yelled Frisk, standing up as well.

"Seven billion people who will stop at nothing to see me and my people exterminated!"

"The world is different now, Asgore!"

"So. You will not give me the soul?"

"If you can't promise me that you won't harm anybody after me, then no, you can go to hell."

Reaching under his cloak, Asgore grabbed his trident, and pointed it directly at Frisk.

"If you continue to taunt me, I shall take your soul by force. I do not wish to bring you harm, but I WILL if I must!" shouted the king.

Frisk crossed their arms. "Do it, then! Kill me. Stain your halls with the blood of your seventh victim."

Asgore hesitated, glancing between Frisk and his trident. Finally, he let out a low growl. "Human. Leave this place and never return. I shall not seek you out, you will remain safe from me so long as you never return to this castle." With that, Asgore turned and left in a huff.

 _Great job, hero,_ applauded Chara. _You pissed off the only man who could free the Underground._

"Oh, I'm not done, yet," Frisk grumbled out loud. They walked the halls towards the barrier. Their anger had overtaken their common sense.

They were going to give Asgore a piece of their mind.

 _Whoa, slow down, there, pal. Where do you think you're going?_

"I'm gonna talk to Asgore." They were still talking out loud, despite the fact that Chara could hear them perfectly fine in their shared noggin.

 _Friend, can I let you in on a little secret?_ Frisk ignored Chara. _Buddy, you're going about this all wrong. Simmer down and let me help you out._

"Since when have you ever helped me?" Frisk snapped.

 _Reload your last save, right now._

"Why?"

 _Two things. One, Asgore won't remember meeting you, and therefore won't go completely ballistic upon seeing you at the barrier._

"Good point."

 _Two, and I know you don't want to hear this right now, but Alphys was right. I love Asgore to death, but he's stubborn. He absolutely will not listen to reason. You have to fight him._

"I'm not-"

 _Look, you can always just reload your save, right?_

"...right."

 _So what can go wrong? Fight him. If you can best him without killing him… It might convince him to end the war peacefully. You have nothing to lose._

"...I suppose. Alright, Chara, we'll do things your way." Frisk prepared to utilize their ability once again. "You better be right about this."

 _I'm rarely wrong._

"If it comes down to it, I won't kill him. I'll take up Alphys on her offer and just stay underground for the rest of my life."

 _You do you._

And so, Frisk reloaded their save, and proceeded into the throne room to meet Asgore for the first time all over again.


	3. Chapter 3

The surface truly was beautiful.

That was what the monsters thought, anyway. For Frisk, it was just another sunrise. They looked over into the distance and saw the city skyline. Denver looked a lot less ugly from out here. The Wells Fargo Center's cash register shape stood out well among the other, more blandly shaped buildings. It all looked nice though. From a distance, anyway. What was more important was that they wouldn't get lost. As dangerous as Frisk imagined bringing a bunch of fragile monsters into a big city would be, they knew that Denver, the most important city in Colorado, was their best shot at making the monster plight known to the world. Their story would reach the White House in no time.

Of course, Frisk wasn't even sure if that was what they wanted. This could potentially be exposing them to a very great amount of danger. Humans sucked. That much was clear in Frisk's mind. It didn't help that, last time Frisk checked on the state of politics in the country, the two biggest names in the news regarding next year's election were Larson Larson and Richard Jagoff, a lying, cheating, corrupt senator and a washed-up Hollywood actor who knows NOTHING about politics, respectively. Those two people were the exact kinds of people who locked the monsters underground in the first place, and they definitely didn't want to repeat history.

They thought about it wildly on their last walk through the Underground, although their thoughts were slightly scrambled by the seven or eight resets they had to make during the fight with Asgore, the three more they made on their trip through Alphys' secret lab, and the exhausting battle with Asriel. In that time, it seemed Alphys had forgotten the conversation they had walking through the Core—she had no clue they could time travel. That was slightly odd, considering their next save was after the fact. They briefly wondered if there was a reset that they forgot about, going farther back. Perhaps they'd screwed up and had to go back to the beginning. But no, that wouldn't make sense. Surely they'd remember any and all resets they made? Isn't that sort of how time travel worked? No, this was definitely their first and only time through the Underground.

...it was their first, right?

Frisk couldn't shake the feeling that they were forgetting something important. When they went back down to the coffin room after the barrier broke, they couldn't help but feel like they knew whoever was supposed to be buried in the closest coffin. Which was impossible. Chara'd been long dead before Frisk entered the Underground. That's what Asriel said, anyway.

They tried to forget about it. Or, rather, they were forced to. As they followed Toriel and the others down the winding path of Mt. Ebott, they noticed a helicopter flying not too far away. They hoped it was a private chopper, an enthusiast, maybe… But, nope, those were definitely CNN markings on the side.

 _Dammit,_ thought Frisk. _They must be reporting the earthquake._ Indeed, when the barrier broke, there were tremors, although Frisk was initially unsure if the quake was felt only in the Underground or if the surface world felt its effects as well. Based on the presence of the news chopper, it seemed the latter was the case. Despite this, they could easily pass unnoticed, as long as—

They rounded the corner and were able to see the commotion at the base of the mountain. Flashing blue lights atop state police vehicles, news vans from every major network, two more choppers in the sky, one belonging to a local FOX affiliate, another belonging to ABC.

Then it hit them. _Mt. Ebott is a dormant volcano, stupid,_ they berated themself, _of COURSE seismic activity is gonna be concerning._ The way Frisk saw it, the local government was probably freaking out. Looking down at the freeway, they saw more police cars—and vans—rushing along the road towards the smaller towns in the area. They were probably evacuating citizens. Because lava.

Frisk sighed and turned to their companions. "Hey, um, maybe we should hang back a bit. There are a lot of cops down there and I don't think—"

Papyrus grinned. "Law enforcement? Excellent! I, the great Papyrus, an enthusiast of justice in all forms, shall converse with them!" He darted off. Where the hell was Sans when you needed him?

"Papyrus, no!" Frisk shouted, but he was already too far to hear. Undyne followed, dragging Alphys along with her. Asgore was next. Soon it was only Toriel and Frisk. "We have to go down there!" Frisk exclaimed. Frisk darted down the road, Toriel struggling to keep up.

"Please, wait, my child, I'm sure everything will be—"

"Hey! You, over there!" shouted a cop. "What are you doing? Don't you know this is an evacuation zone?" The cop glanced at the monsters, then back at Frisk. "What are these, costumes?" He paid extra close attention to Toriel and Asgore. "Is this one of those weird furry meetups?"

Frisk blinked. "Yes. This is one of those," they lied. They weren't the best liars. "We were, uh, having a picnic on the mountain when the earthquake hit. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be heading back into town, now," they said, quickly grabbing their friends and starting off. They were stopped again as the cop was examining Papyrus.

"I gotta say, these costumes are pretty impressive! Why, this one almost looks like the real deal! The goat suits look really fake, no offense, but this skeleton!" Frisk face palmed as the cop continued to admire their 'cosplay'. "Anyway, you guys should get out of here. U.S. Geological Survey says that mountain could blow its top at any moment!"

Alphys pushed her glasses in. "Oh, please. That volcano is deader than my will to live." She laughed, but immediately stopped when she noticed nobody else was laughing. "I'm joking! Self-depreciation, it's funny, I do it all the time! It's like if I said 'cute picture of me!' and then I just took a picture of a trash can. The joke there would be that I'm… Trash?"

Undyne shook her head. "Please don't talk about yourself like that."

"It helps me cope." Alphys looked awkwardly back over at the police man. "A-anyway, the volcano is dead. I should know, I lived in a lab perched above the magma for years!"

Frisk's eyes widened in horror at what Alphys just said. _You idiot!_

The cop raised an eyebrow. "What, you mean to tell me that you live _in_ the mountain?"

Asgore stepped in. "Of course! We all do! ...did. You see, quite recently the magical barrier your people put up there—"

Frisk intentionally stepped on Asgore's cloak, causing him to trip. They immediately felt bad about it, but it was the only way to get him to shut up. "What he means, officer, is that Alphys here is a geologist who practically LIVES up on that mountain. She's been studying it for years and has concluded that it will never, ever erupt. Ever."

Suddenly, one officer gasped and pointed up at the path. The others followed his gaze, and the newsmen pointed their cameras up as well. Frisk looked up.

Of _course_ all of the other thousand monsters chose now to migrate. There was no way they could pass that off as a cosplay event. The cop they were just talking to dropped his coffee, mouth agape. Slowly, he opened his car door and reached for the radio.

"D-dispatch, this is car 45," he managed to make out into the radio. "I'm on the scene of the Mt. Ebott earthquake. Could… Could you send a SWAT team or two over here?"

"Come again?" responded the dispatcher.

"Maybe the National Guard, that might be better."

"Car 45, what's the problem?"

"Um… I don't think you'll believe me if I tell you."

"45, this line is for serious use only. I'm getting sick of your practical jokes."

The line went dead. The police officer—Kowalski, as Frisk read from his badge—simply closed his car. He then looked over at Frisk. "Kid, this isn't a costume event, is it?"

Frisk smiled sheepishly. "I mean, the skeleton is in a costume."

Kowalski looked back over at Papyrus.

"It's my battle body!"

Kowalski fainted, two of the other nearby officers caught him as he fell.

The news choppers were hovering right over the scene.

A man with a microphone—Frisk recognized him as Dean Douglass, field reporter for the local FOX affiliate—approached them, followed by a cameraman.

The remaining officers drew their weapons, prepared to defend themselves if necessary, some were frantically calling the now annoyed dispatchers. One even pulled their iPhone out and started filming.

This was not a great start to the day.

By noon the whole mountain was surrounded by cops. On Frisk's command, Asgore fell back and ordered his subjects to remain in the Underground for the time being, which they did—reluctantly. That left the remaining members of the group—Frisk, Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys—to be detained for questioning. The police force had its officers running around like headless chickens. Nobody had any idea what to do. Investigators were sent in from Denver to personally handle the matter. Frisk even saw some guys in black suits hanging around. Government spooks, perhaps? They wondered how much of the world knew about this by now. The news crews were told to leave, but…

The monsters and Frisk all sat in a tent, cuffs around their wrists and ankles. Officer Kowalski was positioned nearby with an assault rifle, nervously glancing over at them every so often. Frisk was beyond worried, and a little mad, but the monsters seemed pretty calm. They glanced around.

"Seriously?" they finally asked, rhetorically. "None of you? None of you are the least bit put off by the fact that we're literally prisoners right now?"

Undyne shrugged. "This isn't the first pair of handcuffs I've worn."

Frisk tilted their head. "They have jails in the Underground?"

"Of course we have jails, dummy! ...I never spent any time in one, though."

Frisk raised an eyebrow. "So then why were you wearing handcuffs?"

Undyne grinned. "Well, when I was like sixteen or seventeen—"

Toriel cleared her throat. "Inappropriate," she said sternly.

Undyne scoffed. "Sorry. I was just gonna tell them about the time I cuffed myself to a friend as a dare."

Toriel blinked. "Oh."

Undyne raised a brow. "Why? What did you think I was going to say?"

Toriel looked away.

Papyrus just stared blankly ahead. "I don't get it," he said, breaking the silence.

Just then, a detective walked into the tent with a cup of coffee and a clipboard. "Jesus, Kowalski, couldn't we have brought these guys back into the city? I'm not a fan of interrogating people in sub-zero weather. I'd like to make it to the New Year before I die of exposure."

"Sorry, sir," responded Kowalski, "But I wasn't sure what to do. The tent has heating."

"Put these guys in a SWAT van and take them to the station, a snowstorm's about to hit and I'm not interrogating in that weather."

Undyne groaned impatiently.

Another hour passed before the interrogations could finally begin. The group had been transported to a county sherrif's station down the road, where everyone was a little more comfortable due to the far superior heating system. They started with Frisk. The detective sat down at the opposite end of the table and simply stared at them.

"Now, as you can imagine, we have a lot of really, really important questions for you, kid," he said. "I'm Clyde Warren, an investigator for the Denver Police Department. Now I know you don't want to be here on Christmas Eve, because believe me, I don't either, but unfortunately the whole thing on the mountain necessitates that we both be here, you get me?"

Frisk blinked. "Why are you talking to me like a person?"

"Because you are a person?"

"I'm a child."

Clyde rolled his eyes. "What, you want me to dumb things down? I'm gonna be straight with you, kid, you got a look about you. You're smarter than the other kids your age I've seen. Stronger, too, if not physically, emotionally. So I figured this whole thing would go by a lot faster if I brought you up to my level."

"Then let's get straight to the point. Are my friends safe?"

Clyde took a sip of his coffee, then nodded. "They're fine, trust me, I made sure of it. Now, before we get to your friends, let's start with you. What's your name?"

Frisk hesitated. "Chara."

Clyde chuckled. "Alright, what's your real name?"

"Huh?"

"Everybody I've ever interrogated has some sort of tell when they lie. Your face screams 'I'm being dishonest,' so let's skip that part and just be honest with each other, okay?" Frisk looked away. "Come on, kid. I promise, we're just trying to make sense of this whole thing. We aren't going to hurt you or your friends."

Frisk sighed, then looked back up at him. "Frisk. My name is Frisk."

Clyde smiled. "There we go! That wasn't so hard, was it?" He paused. "Funny thing, though. That fake name you came up with. Chara?"

"What about it?"

"Well, it just so happens that you bear a striking resemblance to the photos I've seen of my mother's little brother who was, believe it or not, named Chara. Like, right down to your fashion choices."

Frisk's eyes widened. "What… Happened to Chara?"

Clyde shook his head. "Agh, it was a real shame. Back when they were kids, he just went missing a few days before Thanksgiving. 1963 was not a good year for my mother's family." He took another sip of his coffee. "Apparently it happened right after the President'd been shot, too. Like, the night of. Bad day for America, even worse day for my mother. I never met the kid, of course, this all happened a decade before I was born. Still, damn shame. But we're getting off-track. Where are your parents, Frisk?"

Frisk just stared ahead. "Dead," they said flatly. "Don't even know their names."

Clyde grimaced. "Jeez, I'm sorry about that, kid."

"Don't be. I never knew 'em."

"Still…" the detective shook his head and started writing information down. "Got any guardians?"

The child shook their head. "I was in an orphanage for a while, but I hated it there, so I ran off. I just sort of got by however I could."

"So that's why you seem so much older than you really are. Standard procedure says I gotta put you back in the foster care system, but something else says you won't stay there for very long before you run off again." Clyde wrote more information down. "Now, considering how concerned you are about their wellbeing, I can go ahead and guess that, for all intents and purposes, those people out there are your 'guardians', so to speak? Am I right there?"

"Yes," Frisk said before adding "and thank you for calling them 'people.'"

"They walk, talk, and crack jokes, of course they're people."

Frisk almost couldn't believe how reasonable this guy was being. He had to have some ulterior motive.

"So," said Clyde, "I think we can skip the whole 'foster care' thing for right now. On to my next question. Those are definitely not weirdos in costumes, right?"

Frisk shook their head. "It's hard to believe, I know, but those people are what they look like. Those stories and nursery rhymes parents teach their kids about Mt. Ebott? They're not stories. They're really real."

Clyde laughed. "Well, I hope they aren't dangerous. I can't scan the skeleton's fingerprints into the system."

Frisk widened their eyes. "No, no, they wouldn't hurt a fly. Except maybe Undyne. She's a little on the violently excitable side. But she means well."

Clyde wrote something down. "I appreciate your honesty. What about the thousands of other… Er… Can I call them monsters? Is that offensive?"

Frisk shrugged. "They seem okay with the term."

"Okay, what about them? I know there are more back in the mountain."

Frisk leaned back in their chair. "Totally safe. All of them. ...well, you have some bad eggs here and there," Frisk immediately thought of Jerry, and… _that comedian_. They shook their head. "But really, isn't that the case with any society? I know this police department has more than a few Darren Wilsons running around."

An eyebrow was raised. Clyde smirked. "Touché. So you climbed the mountain, got into the cave somehow, and came out with a bunch of monsters following you. How'd that happen? And why didn't they come out sooner?"

Frisk rolled their eyes. Not out of disrespect, but because they really did not like telling complicated stories. "Ugh, it's a long story. To make it short, at some point in the 1800s the humans forced the monsters underground and had, like, I don't know, wizards or something cast a spell that created a barrier keeping the monsters in. The only way to break that barrier was with the use of seven human souls. Souls are… Like… The essence of a being? If that makes sense?" Frisk shook their head. "It's all really confusing. Magic stuff. I don't get it. Anyway, you need seven of them to break the barrier. Not only that, but it's one way. Things can enter, but they can't leave. So, at some point between 1965 and now, the king, Asgore Dreemurr, collected—" Frisk realized what they were saying and stopped themself, their blood running cold.

The detective looked at them grimly. He closed his eyes. "I think I can connect the dots." He opened his eyes again. "Go on."

"A-anyway, I was soul number seven, and we… Broke the barrier."

Frisk was leaving details out, of course, but they really, really didn't want to explain the thing with Asriel. Not if the police were going to check this story with Toriel, anyway. Or anyone else, for that matter. The story needed to be consistent across all fronts.

"It seems like you're leaving a few details out," said the detective.

"I blacked out. I don't remember anything else," responded Frisk rather quickly.

Doubt.

"What was it like down there?"

"Cold. And wet. And hot. They have like a whole climate system down there. I don't know if it's magic or what, but it was snowing in some places, raining in others, and the rest of it… Well, the rest of it opened up into magma. There was a power plant which produced energy from all the heat. It's basically a whole civilization down there. They all speak English." _Oh, wait, Froggit._ "Most of them speak English. And all of them are friendly." _Oh, wait, Jerry._ "Most of them are friendly. All I want is for them to be able to live peacefully on the surface. With the humans. No fighting, no violence, no hatred. And I know that's not something you can just give me. But I think you can help me speak to the people who can give that to me." Frisk looked pleadingly at the detective. "They just want to be treated as equals. They're not dangerous."

Clyde didn't say anything in response. He simply glanced down at everything he'd written down so far. Then he closed his eyes. Finally, he took in a deep breath and said "Kid, this is some pretty heavy shit you're laying on me right now." He looked back over at Frisk. "Most of the world doesn't even know these monsters exist yet, and you're asking for unconditional acceptance. You're right. I can't grant you that. If I'm being honest, I don't think even the president can grant you that. Humans don't even want to give other humans a chance at peace. When you add monsters into the mix…" He put his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "Combine that with the fact that I essentially have to take your word for it that the monsters are in fact peaceful in nature. I'm sorry, but this is a really difficult spot you're putting me in."

Frisk sighed. "I understand."

Clyde sat back up. "But, at the same time, I swore an oath to serve and protect. I wouldn't exactly be doing my job if I didn't at least try to help. You're right. The department has a lot of bad people. Some of these other cops would be more than happy to lock your friends up for life, or worse…"

He leaned forward. "But I'm not one of those other cops. I'm not going to pretend I understand everything that's going on right now. But the monsters deserve a shot. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do. There's a snowstorm out there right now. When I've finished speaking with you and all of your friends, I'm going to ask you to stay in the jail overnight." Frisk was about to object, but Clyde continued. "That isn't exactly ideal, I know, but I'm not sending you back to that mountain. Here, it's warm, dry, and safe.

"Then, when the roads are clear, I'm going to work on getting you in touch with… Somebody. The mayor, the governor, a congressman, the president, I don't care who. Secretary of Agriculture. Just somebody in the government. Somebody who will hear the monsters' plight and who is far more qualified than I to deal with the headache.

"I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, there might be conditions to freedom. I doubt any of your friends will be allowed to leave Colorado for a while. But I can promise you that your friends will be safe. They won't have to go back to Mt. Ebott." He looked away. "I'm not gonna lie, there are tough times ahead. Things are gonna suck for a while. People will be angry and hateful, but more than that, they're gonna be afraid. You won't get total equality right away. Humans just don't work like that. But if you stay determined, you can make the world a better place. I believe it."

Frisk smiled. "Thanks, detective."

Clyde closed the notebook he was writing in. "I don't have anything else to say. I appreciate your cooperation and your patience. As you can imagine, I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do in a situation as fantastical as this." He stood up and opened the door. "You can go, now. Send in the scientist."

Frisk was escorted back to the cell where everyone was being kept. Upon reentry, Toriel hugged them tight, and they motioned for Alphys to follow the police officer. She nervously got down from the bench next to Undyne where she'd been sitting and made her way to the door. Once she was out, it was locked once again.

"Man," began Undyne, breaking the silence. "I never knew how much being locked up SUCKED."

"We were trapped under a mountain for two centuries," corrected Toriel.

"Yeah, YOU were!" retorted Undyne. "I'm twenty-three! We got out of the Underground before I even hit a quarter of a century. Now, I don't mean to brag, but that IS partially thanks to me."

Papyrus nodded excitedly. "I agree with that thing you said! But also, how is it thanks to you?"

"If I was just a _little_ bit faster, I'd have caught up with Frisk here and ripped their head off!" She seemed very proud of that fact. "Then Asgore would've become a god and, like, I dunno, killed a bunch of dudes and started another war! Really, the fact that things have gone over with relatively low loss of life is all thanks to the fact that I didn't catch Frisk."

Papyrus perked up. "Yeah! Hooray to Undyne for being a complete failure!"

Undyne frowned. That wasn't what she meant at all! She grabbed Papyrus in a headlock.

"PLEASE DO NOT NOOGIE THE SKELETON!"

As Frisk watched this display, they felt the air near them sizzle. They turned to their right to see that there was no longer an empty space near them.

"Heya. You guys have been busy, huh?" Sans said, startling everyone in the room.

"Jesus, Sans, don't scare me like that," said Frisk, hand over their chest. "Where have you been?"

"Napping," yawned Sans. He stretched his arms before leaning back on the wall. "Watching people do work really takes a lot out of you."

Frisk shook his head as Toriel laughed.

The world moved forward. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months. In four months' time, the monsters had accomplished a lot. Once the monsters' presence was made known to the rest of the world, Frisk was flown out to Washington, D.C. and met with the president. The constitutional rights of man were extended to monster. There was protest from many, but that wasn't a big concern. One step at a time. Things would be hard at first, but Frisk knew they would get better. They had to.

Asgore abdicated the throne to Toriel, who abolished the monarchy altogether; they wouldn't need it, they were Americans now. In addition, Toriel began to look into opening her own school, the first one to integrate monsters and humans.

Papyrus competed on Master Chef. He ended up getting eliminated in the first round, but his antics got him his own Food Network show, which occasionally employed Undyne as a guest. It was a ratings success and was nominated for an Emmy Award for comedy.

Alphys opened a new lab in Denver, where she would continue her soul research at the request of the president's administration. She began to lead a team of scientists, all working towards one common goal; to create an artificial soul with which they could better understand the world around them.

Undyne entertained the idea of joining the military. The idea of going out and doing what she did best—kicking ass and protecting her friends—excited her greatly. Bad guys everywhere would quake in their boots knowing the Underground's greatest warrior was coming to get them. In the end, however, she realized that, more than anything, she wanted to be with the people she loved; her friends. So, she opened a gym next door to Alphys' lab, where she trained people to be "less wimpy". They moved into a shared apartment just above the two businesses and managed them together.

Mettaton became a star. He traveled far and wide, bringing his one-robot show across the globe. Singing, dancing, theatre, sometimes a combination of the three… burlesque performances… The world came to expect nothing but greatness out of him. Last Alphys heard, he'd flown to LA to guest star on some grumpy video game playing duo's web show.

He also fired Burgerpants after he was found sleeping on the job. Nobody'd seen the guy in over a month, so most people just assumed he found work elsewhere. But Burgerpants, he stayed in Colorado. Free from his 9-5 job flipping burgers and needing new means of employment, he began to plan his big return… Perhaps he'd be a football player, or a celebrity chef. Or maybe he'd go back to flipping burgers. Really, who could know?

Frisk wasn't really sure what Sans did. He spent a lot of time at Grillby's new restaurant. Sometimes he showed up on Papyrus's cooking show, most of the time uninvited. Other times he could be found in Alphys' lab, doing seemingly nothing. Yet other times he could be found with Toriel, telling bad jokes for hours. Just the other night, Sans must have been telling her some REALLY BAD jokes, because Frisk could hear them both laughing and groaning through the wall all night long.

And yet, sometimes, Sans couldn't be found at all. Frisk guessed it was just something they'd never understand. Sans was always mysterious. Perhaps there was a good reason for that. Or perhaps his apparent narcolepsy caused him to fall asleep on the bus and end up in another state from time to time. That was the most likely scenario.

Frisk's life, however, despite the successes they'd met, was far from perfect. They still didn't like themself very much. They were good at hiding that, however. In addition, they began to have nightmares. First, they were of their friends attacking them. The dreams painted the monsters as murderers. But Frisk knew this wasn't true, so they were able to get over them.

That's when Frisk's subconscious upped the ante. Now, Frisk was the murderer. Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton… All dead by their hand. The only one they couldn't get past, ever, was Sans. The dreams felt so real, that even after they woke up, they were still afraid.

The reason these dreams scared Frisk so much was because of a lot of the dark thoughts they had. They'd considered violence a solution to a problem more than once. The dreams made them feel like they were capable of acting on these thoughts. That's what scared them the most. They were afraid of becoming the kind of person they despised the most.

Frisk had just woken up from such a dream. They checked their clock; it was just after 3AM. Groaning, they slammed their head back on the pillow, before a certain butterscotch-cinnamon smell approached their noise. Turning, they saw that Toriel had left them a slice of pie in the night. Frisk smiled. That was just what they needed. Grabbing the plate and fork, they sat up and began eating.

Out of the corner of their eye, they saw something… Disturbing. They glanced up at the mirror across the room. It was only their reflection, but something felt… Off. They could have sworn the reflection glared at them. Frisk wrote this off as a symptom of sleep deprivation and decided they needed to get some rest as soon as possible. They put the plate down on the end table and walked over to the window, smiling as they stared out into the neighborhood.

Several monsters lived in the Denver suburbs. Sans and Papyrus were just across the street. Next door, the entire dog clan made their home. Dogaressa was expecting a litter of pups. Frisk wondered when they'd arrive. Down the street one could find Napstablook, Asgore, Catty and Bratty… Even Mettaton had a house here, which he stayed in when he wasn't traveling around. Really, Alphys and Undyne were the only ones who opted to live in the city, which was understandable given their respective businesses were located downtown.

Frisk turned around and laid back down in their bed. Tomorrow, they'd take an Uber into the city and meet Sans at Grillby's for lunch, something they now did regularly. They were excited for the day ahead.

…

But they still couldn't shake this feeling of dread they had. They knew they had no reason to fear their dreams. But fear they did.

They were terrified.

They were right to be terrified.

TO BE CONTINUED IN:

THE TWIN SOULS


	4. An Update

Hey friends.

So Chapter 3 was, most definitely, the final chapter. I've told the prequel I wanted to tell for the cartoon I'm making, which will be released verrrry soon.

I was told that Chapter 3 wasn't nearly as good as the first two chapters. I disagree, because I don't think the first chapters were that good to begin with, but I digress. I can sort of see why people were disappointed. The first chapter went in a direction I don't think a lot of other people went in. That's what this update is about.

Would anybody be interested in reading a sort of alternate ending type deal which deals with the consequences of the revelations made in Chapter 1? Like Alphys and the Human talking time travel and having WACKY SCIENCE ADVENTURES or whatever? I dunno. I enjoyed writing these chapters, it was a new thing for me, I'm not normally somebody who writes narratives, I'm an animator, so all of my writing has typically been scripts and it was a really nice challenge to try and write something like this. I'd like to keep doing it for as long as I enjoy doing it.

Alright, that's all, thanks for reading my weird experiment, it's been a bunch of fun and I hope you weirdos guys enjoyed.


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